Travelling With The Enemy | BL

Chapter Seventy Eight

As Wang Bao began to wake up, he truly felt as if he was dying. He didn't have the strength to open his eyes as he rolled onto his side. Mr Liu, who had been sitting beside Wang Bao patiently waiting for him to wake up after changing his wet clothes, grew deeply concerned when he saw Wang Bao contort his body backwards while screaming in agony. Mr Liu had never seen Wang Bao express such horrific pain before and he didn't know what was causing Wang Bao to react in such a way. For Wang Bao, he felt as if his stomach was ripping apart from the base of his ribs to the tip of his pelvis. For ten whole seconds Wang Bao along with Mr Liu felt as if he really was going to die until the pain suddenly cut off as if it was never there. While Mr Liu cradled Wang Bao's sweaty body in the hopes of soothing him, Wang Bao slowly relaxed into Mr Liu's boney arms to catch his breath. Wang Bao was aware that he had gone too long without food and it didn't help that he had missed his appointment with the Doctor for his pressure point massages. The moment that food crossed Wang Bao's mind, his stomach let out a painful gurgling noise causing Mr Liu to jump before swiftly saying.

"My Prince, there is food here for us. Although it has only been a few days since your arrival, your body has become so gaunt. The soup is cold but it will help you regain some strength and hopefully dull the pains in your body."

After speaking, Mr Liu aided Wang Bao to sit up and lean against the thin wooden wall. Judging from the dimming light filtering through the cracks in the walls, Wang Bao knew he had been asleep for most of the day. While Wang Bao tried to find a comfortable spot on the creaky hard floorboards, Mr Liu dragged the tray of soup and bread towards Wang Bao, expecting him to grab his bowl and plate. Wang Bao however, knew he didn't have the strength to lift his empty hand, let alone feed himself and he said to Mr Liu in a quiet voice.

"Mr Liu, eat your food first, then help me eat."

Hearing this, Mr Liu quickly attempted to feed Wang Bao but Wang Bao refused to open his mouth. Before Mr Liu could become too frustrated from his stubbornness, Wang Bao said gently.

"You need the food more than me, Mr Liu. Besides, a few minutes isn't going to make much difference."

In response to Wang Bao's words, Mr Liu could only let out a heavy sigh before bringing the full spoon to his own mouth. Over the last six months, Mr Liu had gotten used to eating scraps of meals the guards on Wang Bao's side would sneak him, but after tasting the rich flavour of the meaty soup, he couldn't stop himself from eating quick spoonfuls. Wang Bao could see the older man's intense hunger as well and reminded him on multiple occasions to slow down lest he get a stomach ache. Mr Liu tried his hardest to listen to Wang Bao's orders but in the end couldn't stop from eating the large bowl of soup in less than two minutes, without so much as touching his two slices of thick bread.

Wang Bao had been the one to tell Mr Liu to slow down when he was eating but as soon as he tasted the soup for himself, he had to fight hard to not rush Mr Liu to feed him quicker. Had Wang Bao been feeding himself, he would have thrown the spoon to the side and drank the delicious soup right from the bowl. However, Wang Bao also knew that if he were to rush himself the food would only come back up as quickly as it went down and he would be left starving with nothing to eat. Because their bread had gone stale after sitting out in the open for a few hours, Mr Liu broke the chunky slices into bite size pieces, placing a small piece on every spoonful. This not only helped soften the bread but helped Wang Bao become full from the light meal. Once the meal was done, Wang Bao leaned against Mr Liu's arm with tired eyes. The pain in his stomach had finally subsided while the pain from his other wounds had dulled enough to a point where he could ignore them. Although Wang Bao was tired and wanted to sleep, he started telling Mr Liu with mumbling lips about all the beautiful places and people he had met on his journey with Nakai. It warmed Mr Liu's heart to hear Wang Bao had been able to find true happiness again, even if it was cut short.